Rough road ahead for beloved potholes

Please, save the potholes! Potholes are just as unique to Hawaii as Spam, plate lunches and apple pie, and have been here for thousands of years. They need our help to survive. Don't let them become endangered -- or worse, extinct. We need to ensure that future new pothole growth can be nurtured, thus cultivating them for future generations to enjoy and experience. Some pothole areas are prodigious enough to be placed on the National Registry of Historic Land Marks.

Please encourage your legislators to introduce regulations toward the vital and continued safeguarding of our beloved and cherished potholes.

John Burns
Aiea

Egg-throwing punks deserve punishment

It's a great American tradition for a man to defend his home, from or against, Indians, wolves, fire, foreign soldiers, burglars; so why not against egg-throwing young punks? Same tradition, just a new adversary added to an ever-growing list.

Gerard Jervis was quietly enjoying his home, apparently after a couple of drinks at home, when out of the blue came a bunch of threatening intruders in a speedy, protective, modern vehicle.

It certainly must have appeared to him that if they were left unchallenged they would likely continue their ugly mischief in his lovely Lanikai neighborhood. He had no choice but to mount up and to pursue them, so as to teach them a lesson and to prevent further attacks on his home and neighborhood, which he did!

I certainly hope a judge commends him for his justified swift action, dismisses all charges against him and deals with the young punks in an appropriate manner.

Jack Telaneus
Honolulu

Barack Obama -- a dream too soon

Let's be realistic, voters of Hawaii. There is no "substitute for experience."

"Sen. Hillary Clinton has built her foundation of experience in the U.S. Senate and previously living in the White House to contend with the world. Clinton can restore good will and respectability for the United States around the world.

She is too vital to pass by. She has a comprehensive universal health plan that surpasses Barack Obama's. He falls short in insuring health care for everyone.

Two terms of Hillary Clinton in the White House followed by the respectable Barack Obama seems to be more realistic.

Michael P. Augusta
Honolulu

Eliminate unions from election process, too

Major financial and volunteer support for Democrats in Hawaii is not from corporations, but from unions. Neil Frazer (Letters, Feb. 10) suggests that eliminating corporate special interests would make voter-owned elections fair.

However, union support, including sign waving, phone banking, mailers, financial donations and absentee ballot pickups from their members, has kept the state under Democratic control for more than 50 years. In fact, retiring Hawaii Government Employees Association Executive Director Russell Ogata boasted last year that his greatest accomplishment was defeating five incumbent House Republicans in 2004.

For voter-owned elections to be fair, union special interests must also be eliminated.

Janice Pechauer
Honolulu

Self-righteous outrage about film is misplaced

After reading the criticism of the upcoming movie about Princess Kaiulani (Star-Bulletin, March 25), I believe that Sen. Clayton Hee and his associates are out of line.

Much of the history of Hawaii was passed down verbally, and is subject to interpretation. Some groups complain anytime anyone in their history is portrayed differently from how they suppose it should be. The same voices are always raised in anger if they perceive anyone should dare disagree with their opinions or beliefs. The fact that this is not a documentary further questions their criticism.

As far as the state tax credit goes, my understanding is that this credit is an economic incentive for movies to be made here in Hawaii, and is not subject to anyone's, including state senators' and representatives', opinions of the film.

Bob McCulloch
Makakilo

Rumbling trains can be felt as well as heard

Regarding residents' fears of a noisy transit system (Star-Bulletin, March 12): Some sound levels such as the ones under 20 decibels can't be picked up on a meter but can be felt with the rumbling of the ground. Food for thought for the rail planning stage.

Michael Nomura
Kailua

Let's move ahead with rail technology

I saw the coverage on the City Council meeting on transit system technology. I was disappointed that the Council is not moving forward with the selection for rail transit. A panel of experts recommended rail. They gave their reasons based on logic and years of experience. Rail is proven technology, has lower operating costs and will fulfill the transportation needs of our city.

Come on, City Council, don't drop the ball. We can't afford to fumble on the goal line again, like we did in 1992. And has traffic gotten better since then? Of course not!

Lei Matsuura
Honolulu

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